


Birthday Song

by selfindulgentstorytelling



Series: Despite What You've Been Told [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Meteor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 22:10:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6875650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selfindulgentstorytelling/pseuds/selfindulgentstorytelling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave and Karkat put on a show per Rose's request for her birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Song

**Author's Note:**

> Just a one off fluff fic I did after a prompt on my blog.   
> Feel free to leave fic requests in the comments.

“Remind me why the flying fuck we are humiliating ourselves in front of everyone like a couple of fuck crumpets?” Karkat voice was more a sullen grumble than a real shout, though volume control continued to be a weak point for him.  
“Because it's Rose's birthday.” Dave retorted smoothly, having explained this a hundred times already. “It’s like a wriggling day except we’re expected to prostrate ourselves to her every whim in celebration.” He adjusted his bowtie as he spoke, the bright red stark against his black suit. It fit him well, the stuffy formal attire a careful piece of the total ironic achievement this was going to be.  
“I still don't understand why the fuck she wanted this ridiculous performance. Does it amuse her to humiliate her friends, watching us choke and gag our way through our self loathing to create what will surely be the biggest fucking shit show this meteor has ever seen?” Karkat voice was gaining pitch now.  
Knowing it meant he was nervous about going on stage, Dave walked over to him and kissed him briefly on the forehead before adjusting Karkat tie.  
“Short answer yes.” Dave's fiddling with the long gray tie was the only hint he gave to his own stage fright. “She asked for a song, and by god we are going to give her one. Now stop freaking out. She’ll love it.” Troll eyes glared up at him filled with doubt. The thought of Rose getting anything out of this other than amusement at the prostration of her friends seemed pretty far off to Karkat.  
“I swear by my tie.” Dave made a cross motion over his heart, the gesture lost in translation. “I swear by your tie. I swear by every tie on this god forsaken rock and if she is moved to anything less than tears I will eat them. Don't test me KK.” He hoped he wouldn't. Striders kept their word and ties didn't sound to tasty.  
He held Karkat at arms length, looking him up and down slowly. The dark gray suit had been hand tailored by Kanaya, and it flattered him far better than the baggy hoodies he usually wore. Instead of hiding the thick arms and chubby stomach, it pulled smooth and made him look more muscular than anything else. Thin pinstripes in a lighter gray to match the tie made him appear taller, and if he were to stand up straight and proud he could even look imposing.  
Dave bit his lip a little upon the visage of him, making Karkat blush bright red. Which was sort of the point.  
“Stop gawking at me like an idiot!” His shout was devoid of any really anger though, and Dave resisted the urge to smirk at this reaction. “I look like a fucking moron and you goddamn know it!” and with that he stopped on to the stage, using the embarrassment to fuel his courage. “Let's get this over with.” 

The stage was less a stage and more the end of a stair well - the meteor hadn't come equipped for theatrics, and there was a limit to what one could alchemize. The room Karkat and Dave had gotten ready in let out at the bottom right of the stairs, on which their audience was seated. Not quite cushioned seating, but it would have to do.  
Against the far wall sat a grand piano Rose had whipped up by combining the codes of Dave’s keyboard and one of the endless fancy outfits Kanaya was constantly creating. It was ridiculously large and they rarely moved it, but this was a special occasion.  
“Welcome ladies and gentletrolls!” Dave announced grandly as he walked out behind Karkat, gesturing sardonically over the crowd of four people. Rose and Kanaya sat in the center of the third stair up, dressed to the nines with their hands clasped over Rose's lap. Terezi and Vriska sat farther up and less close together, muttering and giggles cut short by Dave's theatrics. The glint in Vriska's eye did nothing to reassure Karkat’s nerves - if Rose wasn't here for the humiliation, the spider bitch certainly was.  
Dave walked over to the piano, giving Karkat a reassuring pat on the back on his way by. It seemed to Karkat to be entirely unfair that Dave could seem so cool and collected while he was just standing there trying not to sweat in his suit. He trusted Dave, and he had trusted when he said that his voice was good enough to perform. This however, seemed like an odd choice. The song was a human one he had never even heard before, and he had to learn it with no context and a great deal of cultural confusion.  
Dave slid into the piano bench, looked over at Karkat and then played out the first few notes, not even watching his hands. His eyes behind the shades were fixed on Rose.  
Recognition ran over Rose's face, and with it a wide, unreadable smile. Karkat chose to believe that to be a good sign, and took a deep breath. This was it. This was really about to happen.  
Dave lead the first verse, changing his voice in a way Karkat still didn't understand. “It’s a joke.” He had explained, but what the joke in imitating some kind of human speech impediment was, was still lost on him.  
“You’ve got a friend in me.” Karkat joined in, harmonizing the way Dave had taught him. He found himself altering his voice in that same way despite himself, the baritone of his troll vocal cords mixing well with Dave's higher ranger.  
“And as the years go by our friendship will never die. You're gonna see it's our destiny.” They reached the end of the song together, almost startling Karkat. He had gotten through the song by focusing on vocal control and pretending they were alone, just like during practice. As Dave played out the last few notes, Karkat began to register the faces in their audience again. As Dave has promised, Rose’s eyes had an unmistakable shine to them, the strangely clear human tears threatening to pour over.  
Karkat jumped a little as Dave appeared beside him, grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze that said “you did it, I'm proud of you”  
They bowed together, a move just as practiced as the song itself. Dave had insisted on a ridiculously deep bow, swinging their arms in pompous grandeur. The whole display was carefully synchronized, and the effect was perfectly over the top.  
When they straightened again, Dave was almost grinning, his lips remaining almost completely straight but his whole person beaming with pride. The silence that held during their bow broke as Rose stood, the echoing hall filling quickly with her applause.  
“I dare say that was better than the original!” She said, the smile audible in her voice. “When did you find the time to practice?” She walked towards them both and swept Dave up in an awkward hug before he could respond. He left his arms hanging at his sides, surprised, then after a moment gave her two short pats on the back.  
“Pat Pat.” He mumbled more to himself than anyone else. Rose let him go and came over to Karkat, holding out her hand in a warm gesture of thanks. She knew better than to try and hug Karkat, and he figured she probably felt somewhat embarrassed about her display of affection also far. He took it awkwardly, worried that his hands were still sweaty from his nerves. She didn't seem to mind though, and he returned her smile. It was nice to have made someone so genuinely happy, although he still wasn't sure what about that human song could have meant so much. Perhaps it was the funny voice.  
He looked over at Dave again, avoiding having to see the faces of any of the other trolls. He hadn't had the chance to say anything when he found himself caught up in an unexpected Kanaya hug.  
“Karkat! You Didn't Tell Me You Could Sing.” Her voice was too proud to really be scolding, and he found himself blushing again. “You Really Must Do So More Often.” She let him go with a supportive smile. There was something so nice about being praised by Kanaya, and it took all of the power out of Karkat voice when he protested.  
“Abso-fucking-lutely not. I’m never suffering through that shithive experience again. I thought my blood pusher was going to burst and Dave’s performance would be ruined by the sudden copious amounts of dead troll writhing upon the floor.” He was exaggerating of course. It hadn't actually been that bad, but he didn't want anyone to make the mistake of thinking he was willing to do it again.  
“You're exaggerating again Karkat.” Dave's cool voice reached them, calming Karkat instantly. His warm hand rested on his shoulder, a grounding presence no matter where they were.  
“I Think It Would Be Quite A Waste If You Were To Hide Your Voice For The Rest Of Our Shared Experiences.” Kanaya added carefully, everything she said being done so carefully.  
“She’s right dude.” Dave added. “That was a spectacular performance on part with the great Randy Newman himself.” Dave added. “Better even. Together we are an unstoppable duet, the Batman and Robin of musical combos. We could fight crime and sling sick beats in a whirlwind of beat boxing and leotards.”  
What Karkat could only assume were references to popular human culture did not translate, but he thought he got the sentiment. For the most part.  
“I Do Not Understand The Significance Behind These Figures, But I Can Only Assume They Are Highly Respected In Human Culture. In Which Case I Would Have To Agree - You Two Do Make Quite The Combination.” Kanaya’s encouragement was quite reassuring - at least Karkat knew he hadn't totally botched the whole thing.  
“Hell yes bro. You gotta let me see you rap.”  
Hell fucking no.


End file.
